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If it wasn't released on Vinyl or as a bootleg / soundboard recording - then you won't find it here.
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(U.K 1965 - 1977) . One of the major songwriters and performers of the seventies, Marc Bolan enjoyed a phenomenal run of single hits t...

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Electric Pandas - Point Blank (1985) + Bonus Tracks

(Australian 1983 - 1987).

In 1983, a diminutive rock chick with a powerful set of lungs electrified
the Australian pop-rock scene with her band Electric Pandas. The band
formed during 1983 with Tim ‘Pretty Boy’ Walter (guitar), Warren Slater
(bass) and Mark ‘Hips’ Stinson (drums), fronted by the high energy
presence of Lin Buckfield (vocals/guitar). They built up a strong live
following on the East Coast of Australia, playing a hard-hitting style
of melodic pop rock. Buckfield came up with the name of the band in
reference to the English punk rock outfit Exotic Pandas. Buckfield had
known the band whilst living in the U.K. during the late 70s, and drew
upon that band’s sound to a degree in her own band’s early work.

They
were signed to the Regular label, becoming label mates to high profile
artists such as Mental As Anything, Icehouse and Cockroaches. Their
first single was the defiant pop rock anthem ‘Big Girls’. The track was
soon featured on radio playlists and Molly raved about Electric Pandas
on his ‘Humdrum’ segment. Soon ‘Big Girls’ was sitting pretty inside the
top 10 in Sydney (#8) and peaked at #18 nationally mid year, and big
things were predicted for the band. A relentless touring schedule led up
to the release of Electric Pandas’ debut EP ‘Let’s Gamble’ (OZ#81) in
December ‘84.

Lin Buckfield then put a broom through the band,
with an all new support line-up now comprising Craig Karl Wacholz
(guitar, ex-The Dischords), Marcel Chaloupka (bass, ex-Moving Parts),
and Phillip Campbell (drums). That line-up then entered the studio to
record Electric Pandas’ debut album. But before any more Electric Pandas
material surfaced, singer Lin Buckfield stepped outside the confines of
the band to record a duet with Australian Crawl front man James Reyne
(see earlier post). The catchy ‘R.O.C.K. Rock’ was released on the
Freestyle label during April 1985, and peaked at #44 a few weeks later.

The
lead out single for the Electric Pandas’ forthcoming album was ‘Missing
Me’, which was released mid ‘85 and reached a respectable #41 on the
Australian charts, though it clearly lacked the punch of ‘Big Girls’.
The band also performed the song on the Australian ‘Oz For Africa’
concert (our contribution to Live Aid), in addition to ‘Let’s Gamble’.

Tim & Lin

The
album ‘Point Blank’ was released in September ‘85 and sold steadily
enough, but already there were signs that Electric Pandas’ had lost a
considerable amount of voltage. The disappointing track ‘Italian Boys’
(produced by ex-Moving Pictures Charles Fisher) crawled to #90 on the
single’s chart toward the end of ‘85, around the same time as the album
‘Point Blank’ peaked at #32 (guitar maestro Tommy Emmanuel contributed
to a couple of tracks). The line-up changes continued around the band’s
anchor Lin Buckfield, with Brad Holmes replacing Phillip Campbell on
drums, Neil McDonald stepping in for bassist Marcel Chaloupka, with
keyboardist Charlie Chan expanding Electric Pandas to a quintet. But the
new look Electric Pandas didn’t release any more material, other than
recording the jingle for the latest Coca-Cola television advertising
campaign during 1986 (also appearing in the commercial), and by April
1987 Lin Buckfield called it a day for the band.

Buckfield went
on to form another band F.O.O.D. with ex-Panda Craig Karl Wacholz
(guitar), Ray Spole (bass) and Glen Patterson (drums). They continued in
the same pop-rock vein but a funk element started to creep in with the
12” single ‘Happy House’ in 1990. The transformation to dance-funk act
coincided with the addition of saxophone players Neil McKenzie and
Dieter Pruggo, with Buckfield renaming the band Happy House. Signed to
the dance label Shock, Happy House released a 12” single ‘What U Wanna
Do That For’, followed by the 7 track CD EP ‘Shelter Down’, but neither
charted. The band released their eponymous debut album during 1993 and
followed it up with the 1995 EP ‘Passion’ in June 1995, soon after
moving out to find other accommodation.

Lin Buckfield went on to
become a current affairs researcher with Australia’s Nine Network, then a
television reporter (working on the respected ABC’s ‘Four Corners’).
She played in another band called MisChalin, and currently plays in a
Sydney band called the Bully Girls. Electric Pandas’ keyboard player
Charlie Chan is now signed as an artist with Sony Classical.

From big girls to bully girls, pint sized rocker Lin Buckfield is surely the closest Australia has to their own Suzi Quatro. [extract from retrouniverse.blogspot.com]

This post consists of FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my vinyl copy of this album. Because the album was acquired second hand, from what I suspect was a radio station's record library (based on the labels plastered over the cover), I had to source clean cover artwork from the Web. Inside cover artwork and label scans are my handy work however. As a bonus, I am also providing rips of 3 tracks (all non album tracks) from their 'Let's Gamble' 12" EP (kindly supplied by Deutros - thanks mate). It's a shame this is their only album, as the album leaves you craving for more. Hope you enjoy another great Aussie Album listeners.

Sacred Blue! For mp3 The pandas have escaped the zoo! "This file does not exist, the access to the following file is limited or it has been removed due to infringement of copyright."Could you please bring them back.Danke.